The Big Girl Plates
In case you missed the last post, lifting heavy things has kind of become my new hobby. January 31st began the recorded start of my Starting Strength journey -meaning I probably started the program before then, but that's when I finally decided I should probably write things down because I have a terrible memory.
Anyway, on 1/31 I was squatting* 77 lbs. The summer before I completed 3 nice 100 lb squats, and I felt pretty content with making it to triple digits. So my squat goal in January was to get back to that point --I accomplished said goal on 2/4.
Oops, that didn't take very long.
Fortunately, a new goal was already in my head. In my CrossFit days I only worked with bumper plates. Meaning that there were 10lb plates that were nice a big-looking and the same diameter as all the other plates. Those things made me feel much more accepting of whatever load I was choosing for the day. It just looked good.
Fast forward several months and now I'm using the base gym's weights. The 2.5 and 5 pound plates look familiar enough. However, much to my chagrin I find the following:
The ten pound plates are very small compared to the other plates.
The twenty-five pound plates are more respectable looking ...if you're doing presses.
The thirty-five pound plates don't look too shabby ...but they're still smaller than the forty-fivers.
The forty-five pound plates are the only ones with a diameter (and consequently "size") that matched what I was used to seeing.
In reality, this only had any effect on my deadlifts & power cleans, but for those workouts the plate's octagonal shape overshadowed their diameter in annoyingness. However, that's another blog post for another time.
Anyway, long story short, I felt like a little pansy doing my squats with these small-looking plates, and my new goal was to get the respectable-looking forty-five pound plates on my bar. For those who have no experience in the weight room: the bar itself is 45 pounds. Combine that with the 2 plates, and that gave me a goal of a 135 pound squat.
And that's what I did. 12 times (5 reps, 4 reps, 3 reps).
Goal completed.
New goal? 155 pound squat!
*When I say "squat" I am referring to low-bar back squats. Any other kind I will specify.
Anyway, on 1/31 I was squatting* 77 lbs. The summer before I completed 3 nice 100 lb squats, and I felt pretty content with making it to triple digits. So my squat goal in January was to get back to that point --I accomplished said goal on 2/4.
Oops, that didn't take very long.
Fortunately, a new goal was already in my head. In my CrossFit days I only worked with bumper plates. Meaning that there were 10lb plates that were nice a big-looking and the same diameter as all the other plates. Those things made me feel much more accepting of whatever load I was choosing for the day. It just looked good.
Fast forward several months and now I'm using the base gym's weights. The 2.5 and 5 pound plates look familiar enough. However, much to my chagrin I find the following:
The ten pound plates are very small compared to the other plates.
The twenty-five pound plates are more respectable looking ...if you're doing presses.
The thirty-five pound plates don't look too shabby ...but they're still smaller than the forty-fivers.
The forty-five pound plates are the only ones with a diameter (and consequently "size") that matched what I was used to seeing.
In reality, this only had any effect on my deadlifts & power cleans, but for those workouts the plate's octagonal shape overshadowed their diameter in annoyingness. However, that's another blog post for another time.
Anyway, long story short, I felt like a little pansy doing my squats with these small-looking plates, and my new goal was to get the respectable-looking forty-five pound plates on my bar. For those who have no experience in the weight room: the bar itself is 45 pounds. Combine that with the 2 plates, and that gave me a goal of a 135 pound squat.
And that's what I did. 12 times (5 reps, 4 reps, 3 reps).
Goal completed.
New goal? 155 pound squat!
*When I say "squat" I am referring to low-bar back squats. Any other kind I will specify.
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